Lacing machine



Feb. 20, 1923.

H. E. ENSLIN.

Y LACING MACHINE.

2 gains-smear FILED APR. 19. 1919- Feb. 20, 1923.

H. E. ENSLIN. LACING MACHINE.

FILED APR.19, 1919'.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. Q

Patented Feb. 2t),

t 7 Uniranfsrarss NEW: JERSEY. Y i

r at

tetra LACING IIIACHINE.

. Application rues April 19,1919. Serial No. 291,309.

To all whom it mag concern:

'Be it known that I, HERBERT E. ENsLIN, a citizen of the Unitedi States,residing at Maiden, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Laoing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exactdescription ofthe invention, such as will en' able othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to machines for lacing shoe uppers.

In doing certain classes of work the lower pair of eyelet holes in ashoe upperare snugly tied together priorto the lasting operation by alacing cord which is not re moved until the shoe is practicallyfinished. This lacing has heretofore beeninserted and tied by'hand,prior to the insertion ofthe temporary lacing which unites severaladditional pairs of eyelet holes forthe lasting operation only. Theprimary object ofthe present invention is to provide a machine which iswell adapted for insertingtheflacing which permanently connects a singlepair of eyelet holes. j v

It is important thatthe free ends of, the cord projecting from the knotof the lacing which connects the two lower eyelets of the upper becomparatively short, so that they will not be pressed against and mar orini jure the upper during the lasting and subsequent operations 011 theshoe. 'One feature of the invention accordingly contemplates theprovision ina machine for inserting and knotting the lacing cord ofmeans for trim ming or cutting off the free or waste cord ends so thatthey will terminate comparativelyv close to the knot. In embodying thisfeature ofthe invention in a machine having the general construction andmode of operation of the machine shown and described in Patent No.1,030,573, which is commonly used in lacing shoe uppers, the cord'endsare preferably trimmed by a cutter operating 7 to cut the cord'endsafter the knot has been partially tied, and so arranged with relation tothe knotter that the ends will be drawn substantially upto the knot asthe knotter I draws the two cord ends through the loop in completing andtightening the knot.

ingtoward the right in Fig. *1

The invention also includes further features which cooperate informingand tightcnlng the knot at the proper distance. from the edges of theupper to give thedesired length" to the insertedlacing. i

smart,

HERBERT E. ENSLIN, OEMALIDEN, ruessaorrusnrrs,"Assreuonr0 onrrnn srion iMACHINERY coaroaarron, or rarnnson, NEW messy, A CORPORATION 0 w i ilhemventlon is illustrated 1n the accom pany ng drawlngs,

tlon; Fig. 2 1s a partial side elevation lookshowing the knotpartiallytied; Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation on the line 3+3, of Fig. 1; Fig.-4

in which "Figure 1 is a partial front elevation of the machine e1'n-'bodylng the preferred form ofthe inven- 1s a view similar to F igf 2showing a ma! I chine adjusted to operate on blucher shoes;

details of the cord endand Figs. 5 and 6 are cutter and blu'cher wo-rksupport.

The machine shown has the general conchine of Patent rocatingneedlepositlon to 'be engagedby a looplnsertin'g spindle 4 and cooperatinglooper ,fingerb,

and also passes a portion of th'e'cordthrough 5 the loop after it hasbeen inserted inathe lower eyelet holes of the upper, 'fiXed' cordgrippers8 and 10' into position to be reciprocating gripper 16 for,acting on-rthe' cord ends betweenthe knotter'and thefixed v for holdingthe ends of the cord, a knotter 12 for tying'the ends together, aguidebar 14 for guiding the cord j' engaged by the needle, a

The'm'achine is also provided with a work adjuster for posi- These'partsare actuated as'full'y v 7 struction and mode of operation of the ma-No.l,030,573 above referred to. The machine, is provided-with a. recip-2 which feeds the cord "into so far as their movements are modified ortimed. to co-operate withother parts in tythe edges of the upper and intrimming the 1 ing :the' knot at the proper distance from cord ends.

The'co'rd' ends, are trimmed the machine shown by a cutter arranged backof the knotter and comprising the fixed blade 20jan'd" the movableblade'22. The movable blade is formed on one end of alever,the other endof which engages a notch in-a vertically i movable bar 2&. The upper endof the bar is pivoted to the lever 26 one of the semi-cylindricalsectlons oi the knotter post. When the knotter is moved down to bring itinto position to acton the cords leading from the guide barls to thefixed grippers, the cutter blades are opened, and when the knotter postis raised to draw a bight of the cord ends through the loop previouslyformed about the post, the cutter blades are closed to sever the cordends comparatively close to the post and preferably at such a distancefrom the loop that they will terminate just below the loop when the knotis tightened. g

When the upper is discharged from the spindle a, it is suspended fromthe latch 28 of the knotter by the loop of lacing cord which extendsfrom the fined grippers through the latch and thence through the eyeletholes of the upper, and the position of the upper and lacing during thetying of the knot is determined by a work support comprising two fingers30 and 32 projecting rearwardly from the lower end of the lever 34, andspaced to straddle the cord between the upper and the knotter. Thefinger 32 is longer than the finger 30, and at the time the upper isdischarged from the spindle it acts as a stop for positioning the cordas it passes back of the finger 30 when the upper swings down intoposition below the fingers. The fingers are advanced into position overthe edges of the upper by a. cam 36 formed on the segment lever 38 andarranged to engage the upper end of the lever as. spring 40 holds theend of the lever against which operates A In the cam and tends toretract the fingers into the position indicated in Fig. 3.

After the work supporting fingers have been advanced into position abovethe upper, the reciprocating cord gripper 16 moves rearwardly and theshoulder at the base of the movable jaw of the gripper acts upon thecord between the knotter and the fixed grippers 8 and 10 and draws theedges of the upper snugly against the under side of the work positioninfingers. During the first part. of the rearward movement of thereciprocating gripper, the tail of the movable jaw rides on a plate 42so that the jaws of the gripper remain open, allowing the gripper to actas a takeup for drawing the edges of the upper against the work the endsof the lacing are still retained by the fixed grippers. The tail thenrides ofi the plate and the jaw closes, and thereafter the grippercarries the ends of the cord back between the blades 20 and of the cordend cutter and also carries the cords between the jaws of the gripper atthe lower end of the knotter post. i The knotter is then actuated toform the loop about the post, and to draw a bight of the cord ends upthrough the loop, as more fully described in the patent above referredto. As the knot is comsupport while pleted and tightened the cord cutteris operated to out the ends of the cord so that they terminateapproximately the loop of the knot as the knot is completed. The knot isthus tied close to the edges of the upper, and the ends of the cord aretrimmed close to the knot, so that there are no projecting ends to bepressed against the upper during the lasting and subsequent operations.

In lacing blucher shoes, a comparatively long lacing should be inserted,and in order to secure this result the machine is provided with anauxiliary or blucher work support This support is mounted in a lever L6pivoted to the lever 34-, and held in either active or inactive positionby a spring latch pin 48 adaptedto engage one of two holes formed in thelever, The support comprises a plate having two work positioning lingersindicated at 50 and 52 which are spaced so that they may straddle thecords leading "from the upper to the knotter when the support isadjusted into active position. The finger 52 is considerably longer thanthe finger 50, so that it will act as a stop in the same manner as thefinger 32, and the finger 50 is so proportioned that the cords may passback of it as the upper swings into position below the fingers when itis discharged from the spindle 4:. The fingers are advanced intoposition above the edges of the upper by the cam 36 acting on the upperend of the lever as in the case oi. the work supporting fingers 30 and32. The plate 44 is provided with a shank fitting within a hole in theend of the lever 46 and adjustably held therein by a set screw 5%, sothat the support may be adjusted to give the proper length of lacing torthe size or style of shoe being operated upon.

The spindle ,4.- is mounted on a carrier 56 corresponding tothe spindlecarrier of the patent referred to, and asupporting block 60 for thelooper finger 6 is mounted on a slide 58 corresponding to thelooperslide of said patent. ing from the spindle to the fixed gripper 8may be held taut and maintained in position to be operated upon by theknotter, when the carrier 56 moves from its upper receiving positioninto position for the passage of the shuttle needle through the loopwhich In order that the cord lead has been passed through the eyelets ofthe upper, the looper forward against the tension of the spring untilits forward movement is arrested by the engagement of a tail piece 64 onthe upper end of the finger with the upper side of the block 60. 'Whenthe carrier 56 moves upward, any slack in the lac-ing will be taken upby the rearward movement'otthe above referred to, this construction isnot essential, and may be varied or modified as found desirable or bestsuited to the construction of the machine in which the in vention is tobe embodied. It will. also be understood that various features oftheinvention may be embodied with advantage in machines adapted forinserting a lacing in a plurality of pairs of eyelets.

What is claimed is l 1. A lacing machine, having, in combination, meansfor inserting a lacing in the eyelet holes of an upper and for tying'theends of the lacing, and means for cutting off the waste ends of thelacing.

2. A lacing machine, having, in combination, means for inserting alacing cord in the eyelet holes of an for gripping theends of the cord,a knotter for tying the ends ofv the cord, and a cutter for trimming thecord ends between the knotter and gripping means.

3. A lacing machine, having, in combination, means for inserting alacing in a single pair of eyelets in a shoe upper and for tying theends of the lacing, and means for trimming the lacing ends. p

4-. A lacing machine, having, in combination, means for forming a loopin a lacing cord to be passed through a pair of eyelet holes in a' shoeupper and for passing the cord through the loop, grippers for holdingthe ends of the cord, a

knot in the ends of the cord. and means for trimming the cord endsbetween the knotter and grippers.

5. A lacing machine, having, in combination, means for inserting alacing cordin the eyelet holes of an upper, means for forming a loop. inthe cord ends and drawing a bight therethrough, and means for trimmingthe cord ends.

6. A lacing machine, having, in combina tion, means for forming a loopin a lacing" cord to be passed through a pair of eyelet holes in anupper and for passing the cord through the loop, grippers'for holdingthe ends of the cord, a knotter from which the upper is suspended by thecord, a work sup upper including means ing with the spindle to is passedthrough the 3 l i i 1 ,0

knotter for tying a the edges of the upper-against the work port.

tion, means for forminga loop in lacing cord to be passed through apair. of eyelet holes man upper and for passingthe cord through,the'gloop,;grippers; for holding the ends otthecord, a knotter irom whch the TL Alacing machine;having, incombinaupper is suspendedby thecord, a. work'sn'p'- I port, a takeup acting on the cord between thegrippers and work'support to draw the edges of the upper against thework support, and a cutter for-cutting theco'rd between the takeup'andknotter. I v .8. A lacing machine, having, in combination, means forforming a loop in a lacing cord to be passed through a pair of eyeletholes in an upper and for passing a cord? through 'the loop, grippersfor. holding the ends of'the cord, a knotter from which the upper issuspended by the cord, a work support having spaced fingers forembracing the cord and.r,overlying the upper, and

means for advancing and retracting, the support.

9. A lacing machine, having, in combinat1on, means for forming aloop'ina lacing cord tobe passed. through a pair of eyelet holes inail-upper and for passing the cord 1 through the loop, grippers forholding the ends of the cord, a knotter from which the upper issuspended by the cord, a work support adapted to overlie the upper,means for advancing andretracting the support,

and an auxiliary support adapted to be.

brou ht into osition. to increase the len th of the inserted lacing.

1Q. lacing machine, having, in combination, alooper spindle, and aspring operated I to yield in co-operat-' looper finger mounted I formthe loop in the lacing cord which work. p

11. A lacing machine, having, in combination, a looper spindle, a fixedcord gripper, I a knotter for acting on the cord between the gripper andspindle, and a spring pressed looper finger mounted to. yield inco-0perat ing with the spindle to form a loop insthe" lacing guide andgripper, and a spring pressed looper finger on the slideirom which thecord leads over the guide to the gripper.

13. A lacing machine, having, in combina cord whereby the cord isheldtaut 1 between the spindle and gripper.

from thespindle to the gripper, a knotter for acting 'on the cordbetween the tion, a vertically movable spindle carrier,

spindle thereon, a looper slide mountedon the carrier,

a fixed gripper, a guide for the lacing cord, a knottei' for acting onthe cord between the guide and gripper, and a spring pressed looperfinger mounted on the slide forengaging the cord between the spindle andguide.

I 14. A lacing machine having, in combina tion, a .looper spindle and aloopei finger relatively movable lengthwise of the spindle in formingthe loop in the lacing cord Which is passed through the Work, a carrierfor the looper linger, and means for permitting a limited movement ofthe finger on its cal.- iier in forming the loop.

15. A lacing niachine'having, in combination, a loopeispindle and aloopei' finger relatively movable lengthwise of the spindle in formingthe loop Which is passed through the Work and yieldingly mounted tomaintain the lacing taut.

HERBERT ENSLIN.

